Love and War
by Morgeil
Summary: Relationships during wartime can be complicated... Jade/Graveheart entry for LiveJournal's 1sentence challenge.


Written for the "1sentence" challenge on LiveJournal, using theme set Gamma. Prompts have been re-arranged to flow chronologically. Special thanks to Spade Aceman and Omoni for beta reading.

_**Rated Teen/PG-13 for war violence and non-graphic sexual content.**_

* * *

**Memory**

Looking back, Graveheart had to admit that a considerable portion of his childhood was spent pulling Jade out of fights.

**Wings**

When she had mastered Arrowhead piloting much faster than he did, Graveheart was torn between feeling both proud and envious.

**Strength**

He recalled countless times when Jade had knocked him flat on his back while sparring, her smile faint and smug as Mica laughed from the sidelines.

**Temptation**

"We're going to get caught, you oaf," she hissed as he pressed his lips to her neck in a darkened tunnel, silently begging her to forget about military rules and regulations - just this once.

**Drink**

Contrary to military stereotype, Jade never touched alcohol and eventually admitted to Graveheart that she frequented bars mainly for the atmosphere and excitement.

**Hope**

Jade once claimed – half-jokingly – that she was indestructible; now, as Graveheart pressed his hands against the smoldering wound in her side, he prayed for that to be true.

**Sacred**

He had a true compassionate soul, precious in these violent times, and she would be damned if she was going to let anyone taint him.

**Hurricane**

He had always admired her in battle; a steadfast pillar of strength and determination in the center of the violent storm.

**Fever**

"_My fault, my own stupid fault..."_ he chastised himself bitterly as he sat by Jade's cot, where she had been bedridden for several hours with a severe concussion.

**Fire**

She watched as he wept on a planet of smoke and fire, suddenly realizing the fundamental difference between them: she had learned to accept loss, while Graveheart _never_ could.

**Eclipse**

A dark shadow of guilt had cast itself over Graveheart's demeanor since their return from Fire, and Jade was growing increasingly tired of dealing with it.

**Farewells**

He left Rock's military with a heavy heart, for Mica's death had carved a vast chasm between himself and Jade that would take several years and a desperate, galaxy-shattering war to cross.

**Mask**

Jade's outward emotions hardened as she rapidly climbed the Quarrior ranks, but Graveheart took comfort in the fact that her vulnerabilities were still visible to him through that toughened exterior.

**Breathe**

She stared at the unexpected image on the security monitor - Graveheart standing side by side with the Ice sovereign - and felt the breath catch in her throat.

**Candle**

Founding the Alliance had helped rekindle a light in Graveheart's eyes that Jade had not seen since Mica died.

**Cover**

Graveheart wasn't always very good at looking after himself, no matter how well he looked after others - so Jade double-checked the power pack on her blaster and followed close behind.

**Box**

He worried about her in the early days of the Alliance, aware that the determined spirit he admired so much would also prevent her from breaking out of her xenophobic shell.

**Cold**

"Don't worry, she'll come around," Graveheart assured Tekla after Jade coldly brushed off yet another attempt at friendship.

**Talent**

Cryos envied Graveheart's ability to rein in Jade's temper with just one stern glance.

**Whisper**

"No, that isn't necessary," he whispered gently in her ear as she let him ease the blaster out of her hand, because deep down Jade wanted to believe there was another way.

**Ice**

Jade and Cryos' fast friendship had always amused Graveheart; he couldn't think of two people more opposite in temperament.

**Silk**

Femur often commented on the thick bodysuits and heavy armor they both wore, not quite comprehending that finer materials would never be able to withstand their stone skin.

**Red**

Graveheart could almost _see_ the red in Jade's eyes blazing and quickly intervened before she could punch someone.

**Highway**

She marched down the path leading towards Lord Mantel's throne with her shoulders squared and her chin held firm, carrying herself with an air of confidence that Graveheart wished he possessed.

**Body **

She usually took the role of the Alliance's resident bodyguard and it amazed Graveheart how much they all took it for granted.

**Midnight**

He laid beside her in the darkness and traced his fingers down her bare back, silently contemplating this one night of passionate freedom before Remora's shadow swallowed them whole.

**Promise**

Morning came and Jade was already dressed and armored, brushing a soft kiss and a promise against his lips before she left: _"Trust me."_

**Talk**

The frequent verbal foreplay between Graveheart and Jade often bemused him, but Cryos knew a complicated relationship when he saw one and quietly stayed out of their way.

**Hero**

She loved him because he really was a good and inspiring man: compassionate, gentle, patient and everything she could never be.

**Lock**

Lord Mantel's harsh, grating tones reverberated across the throne room, and Graveheart could only watch helplessly as the invisible chains of loyalty tightened and bound Jade's wrists more securely behind her back.

**Unknown**

Graveheart watched as Jade walked pensively out of the control room and marveled at how - even after two decades - he still had no idea where he stood with her.

**Gravity**

Lord Mantel's demands weighed heavily on Jade's shoulders, pulling her further away from the relationship she knew Graveheart wanted.

**Dance**

"She moves like a dancer - she makes it look so easy!" Zera remarked to him once as they watched Jade and Pyrus spar.

**Search**

He knew Jade was fully capable of looking after herself, but that did little to calm his growing anxiety as he searched for signs of her survival.

**Overwhelmed**

Suddenly her lips were pressed hard against his, and he stumbled back slightly under the force of her embrace, but didn't complain.

**Forever**

"Always and forever," she answered in a voice filled with such conviction that Graveheart immediately felt all apprehension wash away, for Jade had never been one to dispense sentimentality lightly.

**Fall**

In the wake of Lord Mantel's demise, Graveheart noticed how the Quarriors immediately defaulted to Jade's leadership.

**Lies**

She felt Tekla's eyes burn into her back - a silent spear of accusation and severed friendship – and wondered if she even deserved Graveheart's forgiveness.

**Music**

The shadows of her friends decried her, a grand orchestra condemning her every flaw, with Graveheart's voice striking the sharpest cord.

**Wait**

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he teased as she hesitated in front of the large throne, "Go up there and do what you were born to do."

**Silence**

Jade's actions had always spoken louder than her words; a fact that was never more true than during their lovemaking, with one thrust conveying an entire monologue of emotions.

**View**

He would sometimes stay up and watch Jade sleep, because it was the only time he saw her completely relaxed.

**Dream**

Even now - long after the Beast had gone - Graveheart still had vivid nightmares of Mica's death, waking with a start in the early hours of the morning and only calming when Jade held him tightly against her chest.

**Forgotten**

Occasionally he would forget himself, leaning much closer to Jade than was probably appropriate during Alliance policy meetings, and received a warning glare from Cryos in response.

**Run**

Femur instantly regretted calling Graveheart "Jade's little wife"... he'd never run out of the conference room so fast in his life.

**Formal**

Her royal title evolved into something of a private joke, as the equality between them had never once been in doubt.

**World**

Though Pyrus was pleased with the changes Jade had made to ensure more equal rights for miners and Fire refugees, he couldn't help but wonder how much of it was really Graveheart's influence.

**Laugh**

The first time he brought up the subject of marriage, Jade just laughed and remarked, "Bit redundant now, you think?"

**Ring**

There was no ring, no ceremony and no gloss; for Jade was a simple woman at heart and saw no need for such trivialities.

**Journey**

When it was finally over, they were still alive and still together... and that was all that really mattered to either of them.


End file.
